He'll never love you like I can
by Kosima82
Summary: Jane and Maura investigate a string of suspicious murders in Boston with a potential link to a local lesbian bar. Rizzles end game.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note_

 _This is my first attempt at fan fiction! So all comments and critiques are welcome, I hope to update fairly regularly so watch this space!_

* * *

"So what have we got?" Jane asked as she sauntered into the morgue

Maura looked up from inspecting the corpse, scalpel in one hand, recently removed liver in the other. She placed the liver carefully in the metal tray beside her with the other organs already removed from the body on the cold slab. She set the scalpel down and peeled off her latex gloves.

"It appears to be a woman in her mid-twenties, with multiple stab wounds to her chest and stomach, with the chest wounds being the cause of death"

"So what do you think? Mugging? Relationship gone bad? Rape?"

"The rape test was inconclusive, but I don't believe she was sexually assaulted" Maura replied

"No, just murdered…" Jane's sarcasm was heavily tinged with sorrow; she sighed and pushed a few errant black curls out of her face "Have we got an ID?"

"Not yet, but I did find a surgical rod embedded in her femoral joint which is unusual for someone her age…" Maura mused

"In English?"

"A rod through her hip: you normally see this most commonly in the elderly with joint problems such as arthritis" Maura replied, whilst thumbing through her report.

"Does it have a serial number?" Jane asked hopefully

"Yes, I'm running it now."

The computer on the desk behind Maura pinged with an answer. Maura brushed past Jane and scrolled through the results.

Jane caught herself gazing at the doctor's rear as she faced the computer and quickly turned away, starting to skim through the medical report, thinking to herself, 'get a grip Jane, and stop daydreaming!'

"It looks like we have a name – Nicola Woods" Maura pulled Jane out of her reverie and turned back.

"Right! I will go look into that… then…" Jane replied very quickly, trying not to gaze anywhere inappropriate, and speedily left the lab.

As she did, Maura couldn't help but notice the sway in Jane's hips as she practically ran from the room. She sighed, knowing full well that Jane would never feel the same way she did, and went to put on a fresh pair of gloves to begin more testing on the girl's liver.

Upstairs in the bullpen, Jane had passed Maura's findings on to Korsak and Frankie who began looking into her past.

"I think I found something" Nina spoke up, calling them all into the briefing room. She pulled up the details on the big screen including a picture of a young Caucasian woman with shoulder length blonde hair and a stylized yin-yang tattoo on her left shoulder. Jane recognized her immediately as the body downstairs.

"So here we have Nicola Woods. An honour student at Berklee majoring in music technology. She just turned 20, clean record and as far as I can find out, didn't get into trouble as a kid. She was also in a skiing accident at the age of 12."

"That could explain the rod Maura found" Frankie interrupted

"…and she was currently working night shifts at a local club: the 'HoneyBar'" Nina finished

"What a name!" Korsak chuckled

"Putting herself through college…" Jane mused. She heard the tell-tale clacking of Maura's expensive heels approaching and turned expectantly towards the door.

"Maura, what's up?" Jane raised an eyebrow in query as Maura walked through the door. Maura took a deep breath and held up a thick collection of files including that of Nicola Woods.

"The stabbing pattern… I should have noticed it immediately. I checked and double checked the other reports. The pattern, and the way they were found: it is very similar, almost identical, to the two girls we found last week, the Clipton murder last month, and the Molson case from November… and not only that but all the women had blonde hair"

"What are you saying Maur?" Jane asked with trepidation, already fearing the worst.

"I think we might be looking at a serial killer." Maura stated, dropping the case files on the desk and meeting Jane's gaze head on.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's note:_

 _Thank you all for the kind comments! Chapter 2 below, enjoy!_

* * *

It had been 24 hours since Maura's revelation of a serial killer roaming the greater Boston area. The gang had been working non-stop looking into the new murder and the past cases that were linked. So far they had confirmed Maura's suspicions and had also found another cold case from eight years ago with a similar MO.

"So we're at 5 dead women, with no apparent link between them except their hair colour." Jane threw the report she was reading on her desk in frustration, stood up and started pacing the office. The board was covered with the photos of the victims, and a few of their stats.

"I think we should start with Nicola" Korsak was pondering the board, he stepped up and moved her to the top. "That's the new case, and the evidence there may help us solve the others and catch the killer".

"OK, let's head to the bar she worked at, maybe someone there had an problem with her" Jane grabbed her jacket and headed out the door, Korsak close behind.

They arrived at the HoneyBar, it was 10am and the place was deserted except for a tall woman with very short, quaffed dark hair sitting behind the bar going over what appeared to be finance books. She looked up as Jane and Korsak walked in.

"Can I help you?" She asked with a British accent, standing up from her perch.

Jane flashed her badge "Boston homicide, we would like to ask you some questions about Nicola Woods"

"Homicide..? Has something happened to Nicola? She missed her shift last night, but she had been coming down with something, I thought she was just ill?" Concern filled the woman's face.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid we found her body yesterday." Korsak broke the news gently. "How well did you know Nicola?"

The woman sat back down quickly, steadying herself against the bar.

"She works… I guess 'worked' here. Paying her way through college as a barmaid, she was an excellent employee. I know this job was just a means to an end for her but she did it well, I never received any complaints about her."

"Are you the owner?" Jane asked

"I'm the manager here, the owner lives abroad, I have her contact details though, including a phone number" she rummaged around the folder she had open and passed over a business card.

"She doesn't have many dealings with the day to day running or hiring, she also owns a string of other bars around the country."

Jane looked down at the card, a simple white rectangle with 'Ms J. Monroe' stamped across it in bold embossed black letters along with an email and contact number. She tucked it in her jacket pocket and turned back to the manager.

"Do you know if Nicola had any problems with any co-workers or regulars? Korsak asked, pen in hand.

"As I said before she was an excellent employee, no complaints that ever reached me, but we have a lot of customers here in Boston, only a few are regulars."

"Do you have CCTV here?" Jane asked, looking up at the ceiling of the club

"Not really, the owner wouldn't stump up for full coverage, all we have are a couple of cameras, one focused on the bar and the till, the other facing the entrance."

"Stump up?" Jane asked

"Oh, I'm sorry, I mean she wouldn't pay for full coverage of the bar" The manager replied

"We will need to look at those tapes" Korsak said

"Of course"

"We will also need a list of all staff on the payroll and any regular suppliers, we will need to question them too" Jane added

"Of course, I will get them to you as soon as I can" She replied.

Jane and Korsak headed out, pausing for a quick look outside the bar. It was located off a side street from the main club area, only those in or just outside the club would have had any idea what had gone on, if indeed the murder had happened there in the first place and not elsewhere. They already knew the body had been moved from the murder scene, to where it was found in a dumpster in a local neighbourhood. The precinct's officers had scouted the local area between the bar and Nicola's house and had yet to find the murder scene, leading Jane to think Nicola was abducted on her way home and killed elsewhere before the murderer dumped her body.

"Let's get back to the lab, see if Maura has anything else for us" Jane said as they got back in the car

A few hours later the gang were back in the bullpen, going over security footage from the bar. There wasn't much to see, as the manager had said the cameras only really covered the bar and entrance. They caught Nicola a number of times at the till as well as entering at the beginning of her shift and leaving at the end of the night at 3am.

"So we know she was alive and heading home at 3am Wednesday morning…" Maura stated. "She was found at 11am on the same day by refuse collectors."

"Five blocks away from her route home" Jane finished, glancing over at Maura

"She had been dead for around 7 hours when the body was found, making time of death approximately 4am." Maura was concentrating on the screen and didn't notice Jane's quick look in her direction.

"I've spoken to her co-workers and college friends, they couldn't give me any names of anyone who might have wanted to hurt her." Frankie added

"So we're back to the bar and its customers…" Jane pondered "I think we may need to go undercover on this one…"

"That won't work, the staff all know what we look like Jane" Korsak contradicted her

"They don't know me…" Maura piped up.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's note_

 _This one is a little longer, thanks for the reviews so far!_

* * *

"No way!" the outburst came from Jane, "you know you can't do undercover, hives remember?!" Jane gestured to her face, pulling an exasperated look.

"But it makes perfect sense, nobody there will recognise me, including the manager and the other staff you've interviewed. And in case you haven't noticed, I fit the profile."

"She has the short blonde hair… Caucasian…" Korsak agreed

"And beautiful." Jane added rubbing her hands over tired eyes. Maura looked up in surprise at Jane's comment but nobody else seemed to notice.

"We don't have any leads right now Jane, Maura could really help us get somewhere with this case..." Frankie added

"Ok then, it's decided, Dr Isles will go undercover at the bar, me and Jane will provide backup" Korsak stated. "Maura, you better get ready, the club opens at 10pm"

"Right" Maura perked up "Jane can you come with me? I want to make sure I'm dressed appropriately."

"Appropriately? Maura it's just a bar…"

"But it's a gay bar Jane, I want to blend in!"

"It is?" Jane flicked through some more paperwork, until she found notes on the bar itself. "Oh yea, here it is. I don't know if I'll be much help..."

"Just come with me, we haven't got much time!" Maura quickly walked out, pulling a bewildered Jane behind her

"Maur!" Jane whined "You have over 2 hours till the club opens!"

"Exactly!" Maura exclaimed

Over the next hour and a half Jane was subjected to an onslaught of outfits. She was propped up on Maura's king size bed with reports strewn about as Maura changed from one outfit to the next. She moved a sparkly top that had been thrown in rejection on top of more paperwork and looked up as she heard Maura walk back into the room. She was wearing a pair of very tight dark blue jeans paired with a pair of gorgeous purple heels, and a very low cut black top. She wore a short black leather jacket open on top of the ensemble and her hair down. She twirled in front of Jane.

"What do you think?"

Jane gazed at her, the jeans hugged her body in all the right places and the top was tight enough to push her breasts up to the front of anyone's field of view.

"Jane?" Maura asked again, after a few seconds had passed

"umm… Yea… I mean wow!"

"Well I must look good if I can make you speechless!" Maura teased, jumping on the bed to join Jane. Jane scooched over to make room as Maura cleared the clothes off the bed.

"Do we have any suspects yet?"

"No, not yet", Jane sighed, her mind now back on the case. "All these women and barely a trace of evidence to lead to their killer."

"Well we do have some DNA evidence from the Colton case, but no match with any of the suspects for that case or on any law enforcement database"

Maura placed her hand on Jane's arm "We will find the killer, they will make a mistake and we will take them down." Maura tried to be reassuring

"I hope so, but Maur… Just… Be careful, I can't lose you" Jane looked up and into Maura's eyes, a desperate look in her gaze.

"Oh Jane, you won't lose me!" Maura chuckled and hugged Jane tight "I will be perfectly safe with you and Korsak looking out for me, and it's not like I will be leaving the bar with anyone!"

It was 10:30pm and the op was on. Jane and Korsak were settled in the back of a nondescript black van parked up the street from the bar. They watched as Maura drove up in the back of a cab, she paid the driver (another undercover cop) and opened the door.

"Can you hear me?" Maura asked, discreetly touching her ear and tucking a strand of golden hair behind her face.

"Yep we can hear you Maur, just act casual, another girl on a night out" Jane replied

"Right" Maura squared her shoulders and gripped her clutch bag tighter. 'I can do this' she thought, as she strutted up to the front of the bar, smiling at the heavyset bouncer minding the door. He let her in with a friendly smile and she entered the HoneyBar.

Music blared from the sound system, the place was crowded and the night was well under way, Maura looked around, there were women everywhere, dancing, chatting, drinking and a few couples making out in various secluded nooks. She walked up to the bar and sat down, placing her purse on the table.

A member of bar staff came up to her almost immediately

"What can I get you?" The women was a cute brunette with a buzzcut and wore a loose fitting strappy top over comfy jeans.

"Vodka coke please" Maura replied with a dazzling smile

"Sure thing" the bar maid disappeared and quickly came back with the drink "that will be $5 beautiful"

Maura passed the money over and took a sip as the bar maid moved on to the next customer. She put the glass down and turned around on the stool, taking in the clientele. A red head sidled up to her and sat down.

"Can I buy you a drink?" She asked, leaning casually back on the bar

"I'm good, thank you" Maura gestured to her drink.

"You must be new here, I don't think I've seen you around before?"

"Yes I'm new to the area, thought I would check out the local scene". Maura met the other woman's gaze, her red wavy hair reached beyond her shoulders to rest lightly on the cobalt blue material of her dress.

"I'm Maura"

"Clare" The red head replied, "come on", I'll introduce you to the girls.

Clare grabbed Maura's hand and lead her to a booth on the other side of the room.

"Meet Sophie, Angie, Helen, and Cat" the four women waved and made room for her in the booth.  
"Girls, this is Maura" Clare introduced.

"That's a pretty name". You must be new, I remember all the gorgeous faces around here" Angie said, openly looking Maura up and down with a cheeky grin on her face.

Maura blushed almost beetroot. "Are you flirting with me?"

"Is that a such a bad thing? You must be used to it." Angie replied with a grin, she moved over slightly and gestured to the space next to her. Maura took the hint and sat down.

"No, but it's actually quite flattering" Maura answered and took a large gulp of her drink, smiling slightly as she thought about getting that kind of compliment off a certain detective instead


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's note:_

 _Chapter 4, again thanks for the reviews guys, I'm trying to update this story at least once a week, so thanks for waiting :)_

 _So, one of the guest reviews picked up on some of my more English phrasing :P I've tweaked that section in chapter 2 for those of you from across the pond and to make it fit the setting a bit better._

 _As always, I appreciate all comments and reviews that can help me be a better writer :)_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

It was 2:30am, and Maura was still in the bar. Jane and Korsak were in the van, listening as their favourite medical examiner got progressively more and more drunk and proceeded to flirt with a number of women as the alcohol lowered her inhibitions.

"Who would have thought Dr Isles was such a natural at this!" Korsak joked as they heard Maura receive a drink from another admirer, along with her number.

Jane picked up what must have been her fifth cup of coffee and sipped at it. She had just spent the whole evening listening to beautiful women fawn over her Maura, and still they were no closer to finding the killer.

"Looks like we might have to do this all again tomorrow night" Korsak said, flicking through his notes of the night.

"OK Maura… We're calling it a night. I've called a cab, it will be outside in 5." Jane spoke into her mic.

"Ooook Jane. I will be out soon!" Maura replied. She was currently in the bathroom, checking her makeup, a drink in hand she wobbled slightly and grabbed hold of the sink. She chuckled and put her drink on the side. "Maybe I've had enough" she said to herself. She left the room and wandered over the booth she had been at for most of the night, she waved at Angie and Clare before wishing them goodnight. Angie stood up.

"Let me walk you to your cab, can't be too careful" Angie slid her hand under Maura's arm and guided her outside. The yellow cab was waiting by the door, Angie walked Maura to the car and opened the back door.

"I hope I see you here again, and remember you have my number." Angie leaned over and quickly kissed Maura on the lips, she stepped back and winked as Maura blinked in surprise. Maura just smiled, still slightly intoxicated, and got into the cab.

Angie walked back into the club. Maura watched as her hips swayed from side to side and chewed her bottom lip. The cab driver started the engine and pulled out of the street, but stopped soon after around the corner behind a nondescript black van. The side door opened, Jane hopped out and climbed into the cab.

"Jane!" Maura shouted and enveloped her in a massive hug.

Jane laughed and untangled herself from Maura's affection.

"It sounded like you had fun tonight Maur, but nobody really stood out at our end as a potential killer. What did you find out from the women you met?"

"I found out… that that bar attracts a lot of hot women! Did you see them Jane? I got a few numbers" She fumbled around with her purse and pulled out a wad of paper, a mix that included business cards as well as scrawled upon napkins."

"Looks like a high end kind of bar then, if you give out a business card when flirting…" Jane said absently whilst flicked through the pile

"Are you jealous Jane?"

"What?! No! I mean you are beautiful, but why would I be jealous?" Jane quickly filed the papers into her bag and tapped the back of the cab driver's seat, instructing him to drive on.

"Where are we going Jane? Another club?"

"No, I'm just taking you home"

"Spoil sport." Maura pouted and promptly leaned her head on Jane's shoulder.

Thirty minutes later they arrived at Maura's home. Jane helped her out of the car and the cab drove off. Maura managed to drop her bag along the way so Jane scooped it up and lead the doctor to her door. She quickly fished key's out of Maura's bag and unlocked the oak paneled door, ushering Maura in in front of her. Maura immediately went to a cupboard and pulled out a bottle of red wine. She was stretched into another cabinet, looking for a glass, as Jane reached out from behind her and grabbed the bottle.

"I don't think you need any more, let's get you to bed Maur"

"Fine" Maura pouted and suddenly leaned back into Jane who caught her on reflex, her arms wrapping around her friend.

"Come on" They slowly went upstairs, and into Maura's bedroom. Jane started looking for Maura's pajamas in the side dresser but when she turned around, clothes in hand, she came face to face with a stark naked Maura.

"What do you think?" Maura giggled and twirled, reminiscent of her twirling earlier when trying on outfits.

"I…" Jane dropped the fluffy PJs. She was lost for words at the image of perfection Maura presented.

"Like what you see?" Maura flirted

"…Yes… I mean… No… I mean… You need to go to bed Maur, you're gonna be really hungover in the morning" Jane stepped forward, trying to encourage Maura towards her bed, trying not to gaze too much at her friend's nakedness.

Eventually Maura gave in and turned to get into bed. "I met a lot of women tonight Jane… but none of them were you". She turned her head back suddenly and kissed Jane, crushing her lips slightly in her drunken state.

"Good night Jane" Maura curled up under the duvet, still naked and rolled over, arms curled under her pillow.

"Good night Maura." Jane just stood there. Shocked by the kiss, wondering if it was just the alcohol of something more. She knew she would never know for certain without Maura sobering up. She finally remembered to start breathing again and took a step towards the door.

"Jane?" A sleepy Maura called out quietly.

"Yea?" Jane was only partway through the door so turned back

"Stay with me?" Maura rolled over and gazed up at Jane, her deep brown eyes wide in the dark. Jane felt herself being pulled into their depths and involuntarily leaned forwards, she took a breath to speak but nothing came out. Her lips dry with nerves she wet them quickly with the tip of her tongue.

"Ok…"

She tugged a sleep shirt out of one of Maura's drawers and quickly changed into it. By this point Maura had rolled over again. Jane pulled back the duvet and climbed in, staying strictly to one side of the bed, her eyes wide open as her mind crashed through all the possibilities of what had just happened with the kiss and Maura's request. She was suddenly shaken from her thoughts by Maura wiggling slightly next to her, moving herself closer to the detective's warm body.

"Jane, will you hold me?" Maura asked sleepily

Jane didn't reply but instead rolled over behind Maura and wrapped an arm around her waist. She relaxed a little as Maura snuggled in. This felt right, she thought, before drifting off to sleep as well.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note:_

 _Chapter 5: just to pre-warn you there is a little smut in this one :P_

* * *

Jane was awoken by sunlight streaming through Maura's first floor bedroom window, she started to stretch out, loosening tight muscles. Suddenly she brushed up against a warm body and froze, memories from last night crashing back into her mind like a flood.

She wasn't at home in her own, somewhat lumpy, bed. Instead, she was in Maura's bed, almost melting into the soft mattress and silky sheets. There was a familiar manicured hand draped haphazardly over her waist, skin on skin where her sleep shirt had ridden up during the night. She slowly attempted to extricate herself, but the movement woke Maura slightly who just snuggled in tighter before drifting back to sleep.

Ten minutes of careful wiggling later and making good use the many skills taught to her at the police academy; Jane managed to remove herself from Maura's sleepy but extremely strong hold, leaving the doctor asleep alone in her bed.

Jane made her way to the guest bathroom, checking the time on her phone as she went; it was 7:30am, and normally Maura would be awake and either working or exercising by now. Jane stepped into the shower and quickly washed, her mind still spinning, before dressing and quietly and leaving by the back door. She glanced back towards the house, she was still confused by last night and didn't want to face the awkwardness just now of either Maura remembering or not (as the case may be) what had happened last night. Part of Jane was thankful the Doctor was sleeping in this morning, but a tiny part of her thought 'what if i stayed...'

She shook her head at the thought, Maura was drunk last night and would be hungover this morning, the best thing to do would be to wait and see what happened next.

Four hours later Maura awoke the sound of her phone ringing and groaned as she rolled over, her head was throbbing and the light streaming through the drapes made everything worse, starting another pounding pain behind her eyes. She flung an arm out of the duvet, eyes scrunched up against the offending sun, searching for the shrill noise. She eventually clasped the cell phone and squinted at it before hitting the answer button on her third attempt.

"Dr Isles" she answered in a husky voice, clutching her head with one hand, how much did she drink last night?!

"Maura" it was Jane "how are you feeling? It's nearly lunchtime, do you want me to bring you anything? We can go over your notes from last night."

"Ah of course" Maura replied "just give me 30 minutes to shower and get ready"

"OK, see you soon" and with that Jane hung up.

It was at that point Maura realised she was completely naked under the duvet, she glanced to the pillow next to hers, it was crumpled as if someone else had slept there last night.

Memories started to trickle back; of the bar, the flirting and stolen kiss from Angie, the ride home, and finally… Jane… In her bedroom. She gasped a little as she remembered stripping naked right in front of her best friend, and then smiled as she remembered spending the night in her arms. She glanced down to the pillow next to her again and sighed, Jane had obviously regretted last night and had freaked when she had awoken, and left Maura alone in bed. If only she had stayed, maybe they could have talked about it and come to an understanding. Maura had always been flexible in her sexuality, though now she thought of it she had possibly never mentioned that to Jane...

Jane had never expressed an interest in any woman in front of her, and as far as Maura knew she was completely heterosexual. She grimaced as she thought of Jane's particular choice in men, especially Casey. Maybe it was for the best that Jane had left, Maura needed to thoroughly work through her feelings for her friend before she mentioned anything again, she wouldn't want to spoil their friendship by being too forward and freaking Jane out.

Maura pushed the duvet back and swung her feet onto the floor, toes curling in the thick and luxurious ivory shag pile rug beside her bed. She slowly got up and stretched, the remainder of a tangled Egyptian high thread count sheet falling from her lithe and naked body. She slowly padded over to her ensuite bathroom and turned on the shower. Maura stepped into the hot spray of the multiple power jets and sighed as she felt her tense muscles begin to relax and the warm water began to sooth her pounding headache. She slowly soaped up, still thinking of what had happened last night. Maura closed her eyes, letting the water flow over her face and hitched a breath slightly as her hands ran over her breasts, nipples hardening as she thought of Jane, and what could have happened last night. She imagined her hands as Jane's and began to tease herself, pulling at her nipples, her breathing quickened as she ran one hand down her taut stomach and between her legs, quickly finding her clit and gently massaging it between her fingers. She leant back against the shower wall, the water running down her naked body and continued her ministrations, rubbing her clit ever faster as she felt her orgasm build, imagining Jane's body pressed up against hers under the running water. "Jane!" she cried out as she exploded, her body shaking as the orgasm hit and took her over the edge.

As she slowly came down off her high she heard her front door open, and someone call out.

"Maura? Are you ready?" It was Jane, she was early.

Maura quickly rinsed herself off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself up in a large fluffy bath towel and wrapping a smaller one around her dripping hair.

"I'm coming!" She called out, "just getting out of the shower".

She smiled to herself in the mirror, that was one way to get over a hangover, if only Jane hadn't left this morning, then things might have gotten interesting...


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's note:_

 _Sorry this one is a bit shorter guys, but the next chapter should be up sooner than usual :)_

 _To the guest reviewer who noticed my misspelling, that is now corrected :)_

* * *

Jane was propped up on a bar stool, sipping a coffee in a cardboard cup as Maura walked into the kitchen wearing nothing but a towel and casually drying her blonde hair. Jane turned as Maura walked in and gulped, blushing slightly before quickly turning back to some files she had open in front of her on the breakfast bar.

"How are you feeling this morning?" Jane asked, quickly covering her embarrassment.

"Not too bad, thanks for bringing me home last night Jane, I think I may have gotten a little carried away trying to keep my cover". Maura perched on a stool next to Jane, holding the hair towel on her lap, her golden hair curling from the moisture

"Any time Maur, just maybe don't drink quite as much next time!" Jane's eyes were glued to the paperwork as she joked, she heard some rustling as Maura rummaged for a coffee cup before switching on her Italian coffee maker. As it brewed she went to the nearby laundry room to dig out some dry clothes. Soon, Maura was dressed and sat back onto the stool next to Jane wearing yoga pants and a tight strappy top.

Jane finally glanced back up, trying keep her eyes level with Maura's, consciously aware that Maura wasn't wearing a bra, she then started wondering if Maura's state of undress extended to the rest of her underwear and began blushing again.

"Jane are you ok? You're looking a little flushed…" Maura asked trying to keep a smirk off her face

Jane took a deep breath

"No I'm fine, it's just a little warm in here." Jane let the breath out in a whoosh. "Anyway, I've been looking over my notes of last night from your investigation, and nothing really stands out. All the people you meet check out, so I think we're back to square one for suspects." Jane sighed and passed the file to Maura.

"We need to find this bastard Maura, before he kills again. Is there anyone else you remember, however briefly, from the night at the bar?"

Maura flicked through the file, comparing Jane's notes with her own memories.

"Everyone I saw or had contact with at that place was in my notes" Maura put the file down and rested her head in her hands in exasperation, as she thought back to the bar, sifting through her memories of that night trying to dredge up anything she might have overlooked.

"We know the bar is the key, so the murderer must be a regular, an employer, or have some kind of link to the bar. Maybe its location? Or a taxi driver?" Jane sighed.

"Maybe a supplier? Or relative? A friend of someone who works there?" Maura suggested

"The manager emailed over the list of staff and all suppliers since the year of the first death. None have criminal records or links to criminal activities. However it comprises over a hundred people so we're having a hard time tracking them all down even with restricting our search to those thought to still live in Boston or the surrounding area."

"How about the owner?" Maura asked

"We've contacted her assistant but apparently she is out of reach in the Alps at the moment. Frankie left messages and questioned the assistant but I don't think either of them will be much help, Jill Monroe seems to just be financial backing for the bar. Though you would have thought she would be more concerned that someone is killing off her staff and clientele…"

Maura sighed and nodded, getting up as she heard the espresso machine finishing. She collected the cup and took a sip, conscious of Jane's gaze on her. She turned around to face her friend and rolled her shoulders a little. It was time she brought up last night.

"Jane, about last night…"

"Hmm..?" Jane answered, she had just started cross checking more suspect names on a couple of the lists in her pile, making notes against those that looked most promising.

"I know my blood alcohol level was significantly higher than normal… but"

Jane looked up and met Maura's gaze head on "How much do you remember?" Jane's tone was somehow both wary and hopeful at the same time.

"Everything… and Jane…" Maura looked straight back into Janes dark brown eyes "I just want you to know, I don't regret any of it"

At that moment both the women's phones started ringing

"Rizzoli"

"Isles"

A few seconds later they both hung up, Maura was all serious again, no longer subtly trying to tease Jane.

"They found another body..." She whispered


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's note:_

 _So as promised an early chapter! Also my longest one yet :D_

 _Enjoy :)_

* * *

Jane and Maura arrived at the station together, immediately heading down to the morgue. Their earlier discussion, whilst not forgotten, had been pushed aside at the news of another victim.

Susie was bustling around the lab having just started the autopsy as Jane and Maura came in, they walked up to the gurney.

"Do we have an id?" Jane asked.

Susie pulled back the sheet covering the body and Maura gasped aloud.

"Angie!" She whispered, bringing her fist up to her mouth in shock.

"Maur, you know her?"

"Yes, she was at the club, she bought me a drink, we flirted a little and she kissed me as I left." Maura said, her hand drifting down to brush a strand of hair out of Angie's face.

"I'm sorry Maur… but… hang on… did you say she kissed you?"

"Yea" Maura said absently still looking at Angie's peaceful face "She was sweet, walked me to the cab and gave me her number, I was thinking of giving her a call when this all died down. We need to find this murderer Jane." Maura looked up with fire in her eyes "Angie did not deserve this. I need to go back to that bar and find the killer. We know the bar is the link."

Maura turned and headed into her office, leaving Jane slightly dumbfounded in the lab with Susie.

Back at the bullpen, Angie's details had joined those of the other victims on the interactive screen. Nina had found the relevant information they needed online through government resources. Korsak and Frankie had immediately headed over to her closest relative, her sister, to inform her of Angie's death and try to find a link (however small) to the perpetrator. Maura had joined Jane and Nina with Susie's preliminary findings; she looked expectantly at Jane for news

"The only link seems to be the bar and her hair colour" Jane sighed. "Hopefully we will learn more from the sister but I'm not holding out on that"

The phone rang. "It's Korsak" Jane said quickly before grabbing a notepad and pen. She scribbled some notes along with a name and number before hanging up and grabbing her coat.

"We may have a lead, Angie has an ex who was in the army, dishonourable discharge around the time of the first murder for assaulting a senior officer and numerous assault charges since. I've got an address, let's go have a chat". Jane headed out the door with Maura fast behind.

They took Jane's patrol car and headed to the east side of the city. After a few minutes of silence, Maura started fiddling with the radio, stopping when she found a classical channel. She leaned back and closed her eyes, letting the calming music wash over her.

Jane took a breath hoping to revisit the conversation that had started in Maura's kitchen but wary of the apparent feelings she had held for Angie "You know Maur, I never knew you were into girls before…" she glanced quickly across to see her friend's reaction but Maura gave nothing away, her eyes remained closed as she answered.

"I've dated both men and women I the past, I'm sure I've mentioned it before?"

"Erm... no I think I would have remembered something like that!"

"What does it matter who I date Jane? In my experience women are better lovers anyway"

Jane coughed to cover a gasp, causing Maura to open her eyes and turn. She smiled a little, enjoying her friend's awkwardness.

"Aww Jane, have I embarrassed you?"

"Me?! No! Of course not... Oh look we're here!" Jane thankfully pulled the car up and hopped out, quickly putting an end to the awkward conversation and the new revelation that Maura found women attractive.

Jane knocked three times on the front door of a slightly run down old building, the blue paint was peeling, but the small front garden looked tended and well cared for. Flowers surrounded a rustic bird bath and a pruned rose bush grew in one corner.

The door opened to reveal a 5' 8'' brunette with long wavy hair. She smiled as she took in Jane and Maura standing in front of her.

"How can I help you ladies?"

"Miss Duncan?" Jane quickly checked her notepad "My name is Detective Jane Rizzoli, and this is my partner Doctor Maura Isles. We need to ask you a few questions."

"Sure, and call me Sabrina, come in" Sabrina stepped back and gestured them into the house.

They walked in and found a neat and tidy home "doesn't really scream serial killer does in?" Jane whispered to Maura.

"I read an interesting article that proposed that the personality of those most likely to be murderers also tend to be a little OCD with cleanliness, but of course it wasn't a completely double blind study…" Maura whispered back.

They stepped into the living room and took seats on the sofa opposite Sabrina.

"Sabrina, we would like to ask you some questions about your relationship with Angela Harris"

"We used to date, quite a while ago now. Why? Is Angie ok?" Sabrina leaned forwards, concern flashed across her face for her ex-lover.

"I'm afraid Angie was found dead this morning" Maura spoke up, her voice cracking slightly as she remembered Angie's lifeless form in the morgue.

"What?! How? Why? Why are you coming to me about this? We're no longer together…" Sabrina stood up and paced to the window before turning and quickly returning to her seat

"Unless you think I have something to do with this..?"

"We know you and Angie had a bad break up…" Jane started

"Do you know many break ups that aren't hard?" Sabrina retorted

"But we also know your past in the army, the discharge, the assault charges…"

Sabrina looked down at her hands "I had a few issues with authority when I was younger, but I never murdered anybody, especially not Angie. It wasn't a good break up but I never wished her any harm."

"Can you tell us where you were at 4:15am this morning?" Jane asked

"I was here at home, asleep."

"I'm sorry but can anyone verify that?"

"Yes, my partner was here with me, she's at work at the moment but you can call her" Sabrina passed Maura a card with a number on it. Maura glanced at the business card and her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Dr. Charlotte L'Asgens? I know her from medical school; she's an accomplished and respected paediatric consultant at Boston general."

"Thank you, we will be in touch Sabrina" Jane stood up to leave "thanks for your time"

"You're welcome." Sabrina touched Jane's arm as she turned to go. "Please, catch whoever did this. I know we were no longer close but I do still care for Angie."

Jane nodded and she followed Maura back to the car.

"I don't think she's our perp" Jane sighed. Maura nodded in agreement as she took out her phone and began entering the number of Sabrina's alibi.

"Hello? Charlie? Hi, it's Maura! It must have been the five year reunion when I last saw you! How have things been?"

Jane took a left, throwing her hands up in frustration at the traffic they suddenly hit on the way back to the precinct. She turned to look at Maura as she chatted to her old friend, smiling as she saw the way Maura had lit up, some of the sadness and shock at Angie's death fading away a little.

"Alibi?" She loudly whispered to Maura along with a loud cough. Maura smiled, took the hint and turned the conversation towards relationships. The traffic started moving so Jane returned her attention to the car in front, shifting into gear. They made good time for the rest of the journey and as Jane pulled into the underground parking lot of the station Maura hung up the phone.

"Sabrina's alibi checks out as far as I can tell, she and Charlie have been together for a few years, they live together at that address and she was home the night of the murder. We can get location data for both of their phones from Nina which should corroborate Sabrina's story."

"Did you say you met this Charlie at medical school?" Jane asked as they stepped out of the car.

"Yes, we dated for a few months during second year, it didn't work out but we stayed friends. It's harder to stay in touch since we graduated but we still exchange greetings cards for the holidays. I try to keep up to date with her publications as well."

"Oh…" Jane took a breath before asking the next question. She was painfully aware of Maura's admonition this morning of no regret for the kiss from last night, but wasn't sure what to say herself. Had she enjoyed it? Well of course! Maura seemed to be a genius at anything she put her mind to and Jane could now include kissing on that list as well as her perfect naked physique... But Jane had never had anything really question her sexuality before. She had dated men, and for the most part enjoyed those relationships, but nothing compared to how at peace she had felt curled up beside Maura that night. And the kiss, however brief, and sent a jolt of pure electricity all the way down her spine.

She realised she had mentally drifted off the topic as they approached the elevator which would take them up to the bullpen. The doors opened a few seconds after she pressed the call button and they entered. Jane took another breath.

"Uh… so how many women have you dated before then?" Jane asked casually as they made their way to the elevator.

Maura chuckled at Jane's awkwardness "I don't keep score Jane! I've dated a few women and I've dated a few men. Shall we just leave it at that?" She nudged Jane with her elbow, a questioning look on her face.

"OK" Jane smiled and leaned back against one wall as they moved upwards. Maura turned towards her and met those chocolate brown eyes with her own. She decided to get things out in the open before they had to leave the secluded elevator and go back into the real world.

"I did mean what I said this morning Jane" She bit her lip slightly which sent another shiver through Jane. "If I freaked you out, then please just tell me? We can forget this ever happened, but if not…" Maura looked down at that point and Jane thought she had never seen Maura look so vulnerable or unsure of herself. She didn't stop to think, but instead took a step towards Maura, she raised her hand to Maura's cheek and tilted her face up slightly.

"I'm not freaked out" Jane whispered and then leant in and kissed Maura. Her lips felt like fire to Maura, her tongue dancing on moisturised lips, tasting the strawberry from the lip balm. Tingles of electricity filled her as she placed her hands on Jane's hips, leaning into the kiss, trying to make this perfect moment last.

A loud ping brought them out of their personal bubble as the elevator arrived and the doors began to open. Jane stepped back before anyone in the corridor could see them. Whilst she wasn't freaked out by what had happened between them she was a private person and didn't want their teammates to know anything was happening before she could figure out herself exactly what it was that was happening. So instead she threw back her shoulders, took a deep breath and stepped out of the elevator.

"Right Korsak, any more leads?" Jane asked as she stepped into the bullpen, joining the rest of their team who had already gathered around Nina's computer.

"We tracked down the last of the suppliers on the list the manager gave us. No luck, none have a record and they all have alibis."

"Do they check out?" Jane turned to ask Frankie

"We're running them now but it may take a little while, we need more information... I think we need to send Maura back in." He said, looking up at the Doctor.

Maura just nodded, a smile on her lips which the others assumed was just part of her determination to catch the killer.

Only Jane knew that that smile had been there since they had left the elevator.


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's note:_

 _Chapter 8! I'm back to updates once a week now guys, thanks for all the reviews!_

 _And to 'GreedyReader': I was wondering when anyone might notice the little Charlie's Angels snippets! :P The first one was purely coincidental until my girlfriend pointed it out, so I thought I would add a bit more to the Rizzles world :)_

* * *

Maura's head was spinning. Jane had just kissed her in the elevator, telling Maura she wasn't scared of what was happening between them. As soon as it had started though, the kiss had ended and they had entered the bullpen. Jane had switched smoothly back into detective mode, quizzing her brother on his progress. Maura however, couldn't quite bring herself to stop smiling and it took her a few seconds to realise Frankie had spoken her name and was now looking at her expectantly. She nodded absently which seemed to satisfy his query and he returned his attention to Jane. Maura followed his gaze and her eyes landed on Jane's perfectly contoured face, lingering on those surprisingly soft lips before drifting down to the cleavage peeking out of the vee of her tailored shirt and then moving back up and suddenly meeting Jane's gaze who smirked, quickly figuring out where Maura's eyes had been. Maura felt her cheeks flush, what was this?! 'I'm not some school girl with her first crush!' That thought shook Maura out of her daze and she began to consciously focus on the conversation around her. They had moved on to a discussion about the bar's management.

"We have finally been in touch with Jill Monroe; the owner" Frankie was saying.

"It seems she has been in a secluded lodge in the Alps for the past month, unreachable by phone or email. She is flying into Boston the day after tomorrow and says she will come into the station straight from the airport to answer any questions we have. She did sound genuinely concerned about what has been happening and the links to her bar" Korsak added

"Well hopefully she will be able to help us out with possible suspects, but since she's out of the country more often than not who knows." Jane sighed, "in the meantime, I think we need to prep Maura for the club tonight" She glanced up.

"I can't go" Maura blurted out, her first contribution to the conversation. Everyone turned to look at her in confusion.

"But you agreed that you need to go back in…" Frankie said, perplexed.

"Yes and of course I will, but the bar closes on Wednesdays, there won't be anyone there." Maura shrugged apologetically.

"Right, then we plan for Thursday. Frankie, start looking over the CCTV on the street opposite the bar" Jane ordered

"What am I looking for?"

"Taxis that may be picking up or dropping off at the bar, that's the only angle we have left at the moment"

"Jane, do you know how many cabs there are in Boston?!"

"I know, it's a lot, so you better get started" Jane retorted

"It's ok Frankie, I can get us patched into the feeds, it will go quicker with both of us looking" Nina piped up; trying to brighten Frankie's dejected state who then mouthed a heartfelt 'thank you' at the IT wizard.

"I'm going to check up on Susie, and analyse her findings from Angie's autopsy" Jane looked up at Maura in concern, the question in her eyes.

"I'll be ok Jane" Maura forced a smile before turning on her heel and heading back to the elevator.

Jane started to look through the open file in front of her before sighing and standing up.

"I'm gonna go grab a coffee, anyone want one?"

"Yes please, black" Korsak replied, himself buried in paperwork, but Frankie and Nina shook their heads in response, both bent over a laptop screen.

Jane quickly headed out of the office, half hoping to catch Maura on her way down to the morgue but the doctor was already gone. Jane dragged a hand through her hair. She didn't really know what was going on. Yes they were very good friends, and drunk Maura had shown a surprisingly sexy side, and that kiss..! But what did it all mean? Jane had told Maura she wasn't freaked out, but inside, her stomach was all tied up in knots. Maura was her closest friend and Jane didn't want to start something which might just turn out to be a 'one time' thing and completely destroy their friendship. She didn't think she could survive without Maura in her life.

Jane pushed the button for the elevator and stepped in as the doors opened. Her mind continued to whirl, trying to imagine the repercussions of all possible scenarios which could occur if this (whatever it was) became more than a kiss. But Jane's mind just kept drifting back to the kiss and the way she had felt with Maura's body pressed up against hers and she just couldn't get her brain to concentrate.

The elevator reached the ground floor and she walked on autopilot to the cafeteria. She grabbed a coffee and took a seat, twirling the plastic lid in her hands.

"Hey Janie, haven't seen you in here all day!"

"Hey ma" Jane greeted her mother and Angela promptly sat on the stool next to her.

"Here, try one of my new brownies" Angela proffered a plate towards Jane "You look like you need it, how is the case going?"

"Terrible…" Jane spoke around a mouth full of the chocolate cake

"You will get there Jane, you always do"

"Yea…" Jane went back to twirling the coffee cup lid

"Is there something else wrong?"

"No ma, just… No don't worry"

"Well you have to tell me now! And you know if you don't I'll find out somehow!" Angela grinned

"It's kind of personal Ma…"

"You can tell me anything Janie, you know that" Angela rested a hand on Jane's, stilling her twitching fingers. "Is it Casey? Has he come back?"

"No, it's not Casey, it's someone else…" Jane glanced sideways up at her mother.

"Oooh Janie! Do I know him?"

"No ma you don't" Jane replied a little too quickly, something which Angela took note of. "It's just, we're really good friends, things got a little heated and we then we kissed. But I don't want to ruin the friendship. I just don't know what to do ma." Jane looked down at the table.

"Do you have feelings for this person?" Angela asked, purposefully ignoring pronouns in case her gut feelings were correct.

"Well… yes" Jane looked up and met her Mother's gaze

"And how do they feel about you?"

"Well it's not like we've discussed it, but it was her... him! That made the first move" Jane panicked a little, hoping she had covered her slip. Angela paused and took a sip of her own coffee to cover a knowing smile.

"I think you need to have a proper conversation with this person, and tell them how you feel. But Janie…" She added. "Don't let yourself be too scared of losing a friendship when you could gain so much more." With that Angela stood up, gave her daughter a quick hug and went back behind the bar to help with a sudden coffee rush.

Jane continued to sit for a few minutes, contemplating what her mother had said. She was right of course, she shouldn't be scared that her feelings for Maura ran deeper than merely friendship, but she did need to talk to Maura about it. She got up and made her way decisively back to the bullpen, grabbing a coffee for Korsak as she went.


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's note:_

 _Hey guys, sorry about the delayed update, I'm afraid life got in the way a little this week. But anyway, here's chapter 9, happy reading! :D_

* * *

They hadn't had a chance to talk in private since that moment in the lift. Jane had been diverted from the morgue when the team had suddenly been inundated with new cases and they were struggling just to find the time to eat and sleep, let alone socialise.

For the next day and a half, all Jane had been able to do was meet Maura's gaze over paperwork or an unfortunate corpse. Any discussion was limited to the cases at hand due to other members of the team constantly seeming to be present. Jane was convinced it was the universe working against them and was getting more and more frustrated by the hour.

She finally managed to escape down to the Morgue on Thursday evening: the night of Maura's next foray into the world of undercover. She arrived at Maura's office to find the doctor finishing her makeup in a small mirror at her desk. She looked up as Jane entered and smiled, her smile faltering a little as she saw the frustrated look on Jane's face.

"Jane what's wrong?" She was concerned, worried that something had happened with the case.

Jane sighed "I'm OK, I just... We need to talk Maur, but..."

"Work gets in the way?" Maura finished the sentence. She finished applying the last of her mascara and rose from the desk, she was in a tight red halter neck dress which fell down to her knees and hugged her hips as she walked. She approached Jane and took her hand.

"It will be OK Jane, let's just get through tonight and then we can talk about what's happening tomorrow? Breakfast at my place..? I'll make pancakes" Maura grinned at her last sentence. Jane squeezed her hand and smiled before letting go.

"That sounds good" She replied. "Right, shall we go? Korsak's gone to get the car." She opened the office door with a flourish and gestured Maura to walk through. Maura nodded in thanks and they both made their way to the elevator. As they stepped in, Maura reached out to clasp Jane's hand, a small part of her hoping for a repeat of the kiss they'd had earlier, she was desperate just to feel Jane up against her again, even if it was only for a few seconds. But as she inched closer to Jane, the closing elevator doors suddenly opened again and Susie joined them for the trip upstairs. As soon as Maura had seen the doors reversing, she quickly dropped Jane's hand, causing the detective to look at her in confusion.

"Oh hi Susie!" Maura exclaimed loudly, "Are you headed upstairs? We're going up too... Undercover!" Maura spouted, tripping over her words slightly in panic.

"Hello Dr Isles, yes... I am" Susie seemed a little bewildered by Maura's outburst.

"She's just a bit nervous, Maura's going back undercover tonight" Jane leaned over, coming to the rescue with the explanation. Maura smiled at her in thanks.

"Ah, well good luck Dr Isles!" At that point the doors of the elevator opened and Susie walked out. Jane and Maura headed in the opposite direction towards the station exit. Outside was an unmarked black van, Korsak was already in the front seat as Jane and Maura clambered into the back.

"How are you doing Dr Isles?" Korsak called from the front as he drove.

"Fine Detective thank you, I've prepared some more conversation topics for the other patrons at the bar tonight"

"More? You mean you did that last time as well?" Jane asked, snorting softly.

"Of course! I take this very seriously Jane, I need to be able to talk to anyone at that bar, who knows where a lead may come from?!"

Jane nodded, sufficiently chastised by the doctor but still smiling at her antics.

"Jane?" Korsak called through again

"Yea Korsak?" Jane replied

"Can you get Dr Isles set up with a camera as well as the mic this time? They're on the side behind you."

"Sure" Jane reached around behind her seat and pulled out a plastic zip bag containing a small ear plug and mike (similar to what Maura had worn on their last mission), as well as a tiny wireless camera. She passed the ear plug and mike to Maura who inserted the plug deftly into her own ear and clipped the mike to the inside of her dress strap.

"Jane, I don't think there's room for the camera as well? You should have mentioned it earlier, I should have worn a different dress" Maura looked concerned at not being able to comply with the surveillance requirements.

"Maur" Jane held up the small device. "These are built to fit anywhere" Jane pointedly looked at Maura's cleavage, shown off amazingly well in the stunning red dress.

"Oh…" Maura smiled "Well you will need to help me Jane, I won't know if it's visible or not otherwise" She reached behind her head and untied the halter strap of her dress, letting it fall past her shoulders to reveal her strapless bra, she shuffled forward in her seat until she was facing Jane and looked up to her eyes.

"Ah, of course, let me just…" Jane fumbled a little, removing a slip of plastic from the back of the camera to expose its sticky surface, before turning back to face Maura. She took a breath and then reached up to Maura's breasts, hands shaking slightly, she pulled the front of the bra down and slipped the camera into the side so that the lens was still exposed. Before she could remove her hands, Maura was there. One hand slipped to the back of Jane's neck whilst the other held Jane's hands in place at her breasts. She leaned forwards (after a quick glance to the front to ensure their privacy) and pressed her lips to Jane's. Jane responded, moving her lips and darting her tongue forward to caress Maura's. Maura's breath suddenly hitched as she felt Jane's fingers brush over her nipples through the material of her bra. She cursed herself for wearing a bra at all with this dress, before all other thoughts abandoned her brain as Jane's tongue left her mouth and she began to press kisses down Maura's neck.

Jane's administrations had just reached Maura's collarbone when the felt the van begin to decelerate.

"Are you two ready back there?" Korsak yelled, his eyes still on the road in front.

Maura opened her eye's in shock, she had, for a moment, completely lost herself in the feel of Jane's tongue against her skin. Jane however kept going, somehow not hearing Korsak's announcement.

"Jane" Maura whispered, cupping Jane's cheek with one hand and tilting her head up, her skin still tingling.

"Hmm?"

"We're here" Maura whispered "Quickly, tie my dress? Before Detective Korsak notices something!"

Jane finally realised where they were and jolted upright. Maura quickly spun in her seat exposing her back to Jane. Jane reached around in front to grasp the straps of the halter, she swiftly tied it at the back before tracing her fingers down the exposed part of Maura's back. Maura shivered, causing Jane to grin. Korsak pulled in at that exact moment, making the two women lean backwards slightly to compensate.

"OK Dr Isles, we're parked down the street from the club, no one should notice how you arrived and it should only take a couple of minutes for you to get there. We will monitor you from here. Keep us updated and remember to use the code word if you are compromised or in danger"

"Pussycat? You couldn't have come up with something else?" Maura sighed as she climbed out of the van. She had already reapplied her lipstick and fixed her hair, she now took a few seconds to adjust her dress and turned back to Jane, who was standing in the doorway of the van.

"How do I look?" She twirled

"Beautiful" Jane said and smiled. "And Maur?"

"Yes?"

"Be safe." Jane said now all serious

"I will Jane. Don't worry about me" And with that Maura squared her shoulders, clasped her clutch close and began the short walk to the bar.

"But I always do" Jane whispered, watching Maura until she turned the corner out of sight. Jane finally turned back, closed the door and sat down in front of the many instruments populating the back of the van, looking up as Korsak left the front seat to join her.

"Right" Korsak stated, placing a thermos of hot coffee down in front of the main screen "Let's get started!"


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's note:_

 _I can't believe this story has hit over 200 followers! Thank you guys so much, I just hope I can keep entertaining you :P_

* * *

Maura was nearing the club when a few drops of rain hit her face. She brushed them off and looked up briefly before speeding up, 30 seconds later she reached the entrance, nodding to the bouncer as she waltzed in. Like before she walked up to the bar and took a seat signalling the bartender for a drink. This evening it was a guy behind the bar, quiet but efficient, a vodka coke was in front of her within seconds. Maura tipped the man and spun around on her stool, she was here a little earlier than before so the bar had yet to fill up. She did notice a few familiar faces however so stood up and walked over.

"Hi Clare! How are you?"

"Ah! Hi again Maura, I'm good thank you" the red head replied, seated in a booth with two other women Maura didn't recognise. "Why don't you join us?"

"Thanks" Maura sat down and placed her drink on the table

"I don't think you know Sarah or Blossom?" Clare looked at each woman in turn, both beautiful, one blonde with what Maura believed to be a far from natural nose or cup size. And the other with a much more natural look and short shoulder length brunette curls.

"No I haven't, nice to meet you." Maura smiled. "Blossom, that's an interesting name?" Maura asked the blonde

"I know ya'll, don't you think it's unique? I picked it out myself. I'm just passing through here on my way to LA. I'm destined to be a model, with some acting on the side you know?" Blossom had a slight Texan drawl and the enthusiasm of a new born puppy. The girl's infectious nature made Maura grin, she took a sip of her drink and began chatting to the trio.

Meanwhile, back in the van, Jane was busy mopping up the coffee that had spurted out of her nose and mouth at hearing the conversation between Maura and Blossom.

"Ah Jane, don't be mean" Korsak chuckled "Blossom may be a great actress for all we know" Korsak helped wipe the last of the coffee off a keyboard and handed Jane a fresh cup.

"Here have some more of this"

"Thanks Korsak. So aside from a 'blossoming' young actress, anyone else stand out?" Jane slurped the strong coffee

"Well the bartender is new, he isn't on the list the manager gave us and doesn't seem overly friendly"

"Yea, but he doesn't seem hostile either, just rather efficient." Jane commented

"Well I will add him to the list anyway, he's a new player at the bar."

"Ok. So who are we looking at next?" Jane peered at the live feed from what she had dubbed Maura's boob-cam.

Back in the bar, Maura was subtly trying to quiz the three women she was sitting with.

"So, have you heard from the others I met the last time I was here?" Maura asked

"No, we don't always get the same crowd. Though now you mention it I haven't heard from Angie since the last night you were here. We thought she got lucky!" Sarah winked and nudged Maura.

"No…" Maura tried to hide the sadness she knew was showing in her eyes. "Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom." And with that Maura quickly left the table and headed to the toilets at the other end of the bar. She pushed on the door and leaned on a sink, "Get it together Maura!" She whispered sternly to herself, meeting her own gaze in the mirror, dashing the tears that briefly threatened to cloud her vision.

"Maura?"

Maura jumped as she heard Jane's soft voice. She lifted a hand up to her ear, feeling the small ear piece still in place.

"Maura, it's OK, you can do this, I know you can."

Maura looked back at the mirror, knowing Jane could see her face through the dress camera, and nodded. She took a deep breath and walked back out into the club.

Maura spent the next couple of hours mingling. The bar had been filling up all night and was now at capacity, she could see a short queue beginning to form outside and the dance floor was packed.

She had moved mainly at Jane's direction, to those she and Korsak pointed out as of interest; engaging in idle conversation about anything and everything, dancing and smiling with those she met, before slowly and subtly asking if they came here often… and if they had seen anything suspicious the night of Angie's murder. None of them had, and the free flowing alcohol ensured they didn't really pay attention to Maura's odd line of questioning, as she again found herself receiving multiple phone numbers and requests to 'call me' when she inevitably excused herself and moved on to the next person of interest.

"Maura?" Jane's voice again coming from the earpiece. Maura subtly brushed a strand of hair behind the ear in question, taking a sip of her 4th vodka coke to mask her reply.

"Yes?"

"Head back to the bar, we want you to check out the bartender, he's new."

"Copy that." Maura weaved through dancing and sweating bodies on her way back to the bar, squeezing between gorgeous women and the odd male friend looking slightly out of his depth. She suddenly jumped as she felt a small hand squeeze her pert arse and turned to try and find the culprit but no one met her gaze. Annoyed, she resumed her trek to the bar, using her elbows probably a little more than necessary to make a path, only to find her way blocked as more people queued for drinks.

She had to wait close to 10 minutes before she could catch the attention of the new bartender who merely looked at her and questioned.

"Yes?"

"Vodka coke please… wait make that two" Maura had to shout a little to be heard, thinking she may as well order a couple of drinks as it took so long to get here. The guy nodded and turned to grab the vodka bottle to pour the shots, as he added the cola, Maura tried to question him

"So, are you new around here?"

"Yep"

"Errr… Been in Boston long?"

"A while"

"What did you do before?"

"Here's your drinks, twenty dollars please" He placed the two glasses in front of Maura and held his hand out for payment. She placed a twenty dollar bill in his hand and opened her mouth to ask another question but as soon as the money let her hand he had turned to the next customer to take their order.

"Hmmf! Did you get that?" Maura quietly directed the question towards the mic on her dress strap, making her way back through the crowd with glasses in hand, the way out of the bar area much easier as people surged back the way she had come.

"Yea, thanks Maura, I think he might be one to follow up… Didn't seem too forthcoming with the answers did he…" Jane replied. Maura thought she could almost hear the frantic scratching of Jane's pen as she made notes on the taciturn barman.

Maura finally escaped the press and took a break leaning up against one wall. She sipped her drink, her gaze scanning the crowd for suspicious activity. She was so engrossed with those in front of her she ironically failed to notice Clare coming up on her left and was again startled as she nudged Maura's arm and said hello.

"Oh hi again!" Despite the shock, Maura was pleased to see a friendly face after all the questioning

"Ooh is that for me?" Clare had a thin layer of sweat covering her arms and forehead; she had obviously been in the thick of the dance floor. She smiled widely at Maura, her gaze flitting between Maura and Maura's second glass. Maura thought for a second about saying no but in the end gave in.

"Ah, of course, you look like you could use a drink" Maura passed her the glass.

Clare immediately downed the whole glass

"Thanks. Are you gonna dance Maura?"

"I don't know…" Maura hesitated

"Come on, let's have some fun! Wait till you see what Blossom is doing!" Clare grabbed Maura's arm and all but dragged her to the dance floor. After pressing their way through the crowd of bodies to what Maura assumed was roughly the center of the club, Clare spun Maura around and started dancing with her. The current song was an up-tempo number called 'Lush Life' and Maura found herself beginning to actually enjoy the night and she danced with Clare, both of them letting go a little. The music soon switched to a slower hip hop beat Maura didn't recognise, Clare was getting closer and closer, until suddenly her hands were on Maura's hips, swaying them to the beat and pushing her body up against hers. She smelled of alcohol and sweat, but Maura just went with it, trying to lose her stress and worry in the movement. Clare spun Maura around until she was behind the doctor and placed her hands on her hips, edging them slowly further round and downwards. She lifted them off briefly and Maura danced solo for a few seconds before she felt hands back on her hips again. She heard Jane's voice in her ear and moved her hand up to brush the ear with the ear piece.

"Turn around"

She turned... and was suddenly in Jane's arms.

Maura's face lit up with joy at finding Jane actually behind her and not just in her ear.

'What are you doing here?" Maura mouthed the question, fully aware that Korsak could still hear everything they said.

"It was getting crowded in here, I thought you could use some help. Korsak can provide backup if we need it." Jane stated, careful of what her partner might hear.

Maura just grinned back, her smile huge on her face. She consciously stilled it before replying.

"Thank you Jane, I'm sure this will go much quicker now"

"OK I'm gonna go check out the barman again, he seemed a bit off when you questioned him before"

"OK Jane, I'll keep an eye on things here"

"Right" Jane smiled at Maura and squeezed her arm gently before walking off in the direction of the bar.

Maura turned to watch Jane walk off, she was glad Jane had joined her. Hopefully they could get this over with quickly and leave. The loud music was giving her a headache, and part of her was longing to just skip the looming conversation between her and Jane and drag the detective straight to her bed. She bit her lip as thoughts of Jane naked and writhing on her duvet filled her head.

"Maura!"

Maura spun around at the sound of her name, spotting Sarah waving over the heads of other dancers. Maura swerved and dodged her way through the crowd until she reached the woman

"Hey, are you having a good night?" Maura asked, shouting a little to be heard. Sarah nodded, then turned to point to the left. A couple of poles were set up on the dance floor, Maura had assumed to start with that they were structurally relevant to the building but then she noticed Blossom swinging herself around one and realised they served a dual purpose.

"Look at her go!" Sarah chuckled, "do you think she's done this before?"

The two women stared at Blossom as she grabbed the pole with both hands and slid down, stumbling a little on the way in her high heels. She slowly came back up, swaying her hips as she went.

"She's OK" Maura conceded "but it's obvious she has had no formal training. Pole dance and fitness requires a great deal of skill and strength and her technique is just... well sloppy" Maura continued a little apologetically.

"You sound like you know a lot about pole dancing Maura; do you go to many strip clubs?" Sarah teased.

"Well I did visit one a few years back with a group of friends and the dancers there were very accomplished women. But I also took a course at university in pole fitness, it really helps with your core strength" Maura gestured around her abs area, still watching Blossom as she did so.

At that point, there were a number of wolf whistles as Blossom finally stood up from the pole, threw a mock bow and walked towards Maura and Sarah.

"That was awesome girl!" Sarah exclaimed

"Thanks" Blossom smiled, taking her drink back from Sarah. "Do you gals fancy a go?" Blossom swayed a little from the alcohol.

"I think Maura should!"

"What? Nooo… I couldn't" Maura protested, waving her hands and backing away slightly

"She has sooo done this before! You need to show us what you got girl!" Sarah encouraged

Maura looked from side to side, trying to think of an escape plan, whilst beside her the two women just started chanting loudly.

"Maura! Maura! Maura!"


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's note:_

 _Hey guys, sorry for the delay in uploading. A little smut coming up in this one ;) Happy Sunday!_

* * *

Jane was at the bar, drink in hand, attempting to quiz the barman. Suffice to say she was getting even less response than Maura. It seemed impossible but the already packed club was even busier and the barman (now joined by two colleagues) was rushed off his feet and had no time for questions or talk aside from drink orders.

Sighing, Jane took a sip from her drink and began to elbow her way back out of the crush. So focused on escaping the crowd, she didn't spot Maura until a massive cheer rang out through the club along with a few woops and wolf whistles. Jane looked up in the direction of the noise, loud enough to be heard above the thumping base of the DJ's current song choice. She noticed a group of woman ringing a pole in the center of the dance floor, their eyes locked on a beautiful woman who had somehow contorted her body around the pole. Her hands then swiftly moved to take the weight of her entire body as she formed a superman pose, her legs artfully poised horizontally out from the pole. After holding the pose for a few seconds she swung her legs round and spun 360 degrees around the smooth metal, golden hair flowing out behind her. As she spun, Jane caught a look at her face and her jaw dropped. It was Maura!

Suddenly it was as if the rest of the bar, the people, and the din just faded away. Jane could see nothing but Maura, spinning around that pole, her red dress had ridden up ever so slightly and in certain positions, Jane caught a glimpse of lacy black underwear as Maura effortlessly flowed from one position to the next. She was moving her body in a way Jane had thought impossible for a human being to do.

She didn't realise it, but suddenly Jane was amongst the crowd surrounding Maura. She'd managed to lose her drink somewhere along the way but found that she didn't really care.

She came out of her daze as Maura finished one last twirl around the pole, she had made her way to the top and leisurely swirled back down, her hair streaming behind her, luscious legs wrapped around the cool metal, every muscle in her well defined arms and legs glimmering with a thin sheen of sweat as she made her descent.

The hoots and hollers as she hit the floor feet first were loud enough to drown out the DJ, Maura grinned as she flourished a mini bow to those surrounding her. Sarah and Blossom immediately ran up to her, Blossom squealing

"That was amazing girl!"

"Truly awesome!" Sarah added, throwing her arms around Maura and kissing her on the cheek

"I know you're sexy but… just… wow!" Sarah's eye's had darkened as she met Maura's gaze, she licked her lips. At that point, Blossom's attention had shifted to a new arrival on the floor so Sarah took advantage of the distraction and leaned in closer to Maura.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" Sarah whispered in Maura's ear, her alcoholic breath tickling Maura's ear lobe.

"Umm…" Maura thought to turn her down, but Sarah's predatory gaze had stolen her voice, she was on a high from being on the pole and needed a release, but Sarah just wasn't the one she wanted.

"She's with me." Jane's voice broke over the music, saving Maura from having to answer, and making Sarah jump into the bargain as she came up behind her, brushing the other woman away as she moved in to stand protectively beside Maura.

"Do you know this woman?" Sarah looked disdainfully at Jane, annoyed at the interruption.

Maura put a hand on Jane's arm; silently indicating to let her handle this. She felt Jane relax slightly whilst still holding her defensive pose.

"Yes I do. It's been fun Sarah; I'll see you around some time?" Maura gave a quick smile but didn't wait for an answer as she turned on a heel and walked away from the floor, conscious of Jane's presence just behind her. She heard Jane quietly speak into her own mic before switching it off and removing the ear piece and mic to her purse. Korsak's voice came through Maura's own ear piece soon after.

"OK, I'm packing up, Jane says you two are going to wrap things up there and then head home, I will see you tomorrow and we can sort through the footage then."

"Yes, thank you Detective, see you then." Maura switched off her own devices and then, like Jane tucked them into the bag she had retrieved after her performance. She assumed Jane would want to leave so headed towards the exit. Instead, she felt Jane's hand grab hers and tug her in another direction. Jane's hand was warm and Maura found herself gently stroking Jane's palm, lightly brushing the faint scars that always made her heart break when she thought of how her detective had suffered in the past. She looked up at Jane, who turned her head briefly to smile at Maura, making that same heart melt. Maura grinned widely back, not really caring where they went now as long as Jane was with her.

Jane led her to an out of the way nook that housed a small two seat sofa, which was surprisingly unoccupied. Though Maura noticed it was discreetly hidden from the majority of the bar, meaning that you had to know it was there, in order to find it.

Jane sat down and Maura joined her. Jane looked a little nervous but kept hold of Maura's hand as she took a breath.

"Maura, you… on that pole… that was amazing! Why do I not know you can do that!"

"Well I guess there's never been an opportunity before now for me to show off for you." Maura stuck her tongue out a little, teasing.

"Were you going to go with her? I mean... If I hadn't shown up?" Jane looked down as she said it, worried about what Maura's response might be.

"No." Maura was emphatic in her answer. "I mean, I thought about it, but she's just not the one I want to be with. You are." Maura touched Jane's chin and gently tilted her face up, she leaned in closer until their lips were almost touching and she could feel Jane's breath, a hint of coffee overshadowing any alcohol she might have had. Jane closed the distance between them, meeting Maura's lips with her own.

Maura deepened the kiss between them; her hand going to Jane's shoulder to push her flat against the back of the sofa and in one swift movement; she swung a leg over Jane, straddling the detective whilst never breaking the kiss. Maura's dress had ridden up and was now bunched up just below her hips, exposing her bare legs. Jane's hands tentatively rested on the bare skin before moving slowly but firmly up Maura's thighs to cup her arse. She slipped a hand under the thin material of the dress and caressed Maura's arse through her lace pants, making Maura gasp a little as she did so.

"Maur…" Jane groaned and threw her head back as Maura began to grind into her, the dress riding up even further as she spread her legs wide over Jane's lap to get as much contact as possible. As Jane broke the kiss, Maura dived to her neck, peppering it with kisses. She then moved to Jane's sensitive collarbone and bit down, causing the detective to buck a little under her, increasing the delicious friction between them, making Maura moan into Jane's neck.

"Touch me…" Maura begged

Jane slid one hand around from behind Maura and slipped it between them. She ran a finger in the heat between Maura's legs. It was now the doctor throwing her head back at the touch she had been longing for, for so so long. Jane gazed up at the beauty writhing in front of her and increased the pressure between Maura's legs; she could feel her wetness through the panties and soon found Maura's sweet spot. She started rubbing Maura's clit gently and moved her head forward a little to dive into Maura's cleavage. She kissed and nipped at the soft flesh there, running her tongue along the edge of the dress. She was about to go further before remembering just in time that they were in public. Instead she moved back to Maura's lips, capturing them in her own as she increased the pace on the hardened clit underneath her deft fingers.

Maura's breathing had quickened as she felt the pace of Jane's fingers increase. She wanted this. No she _needed_ this, this perfect moment between them. Maura felt herself getting closer to the edge and started grinding hard on Jane's hand. She didn't care they where they were, just that this was finally happening, and that it was finally Jane herself fulfilling this fantasy. Maura's release hit her in a wave, she rode it out on Jane's fingers as her movements began to slow. She eventually stopped and collapsed forwards onto Jane, her breathing still heavy and erratic as she nuzzled into her lover's neck.

Jane reluctantly removed her hand and moved it back to its previous position on Maura's arse, she gently stroked Maura's behind as she felt the Doctor's heartbeat slowly return to normal. They both just stayed in the same position for a few moments, content in the other's arms as the music from the club seeped slowly back into their awareness'.

"Maura..?"

"Mmm?" Maura mumbled into Jane's neck.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" Jane grinned, definitely more confident than earlier.

Maura sat up, still in Jane's lap. Her eyes had darkened and she bit her lip seductively, she ground her hips into Jane's a little, smiling as the Detective gasped. Maura leaned forwards, her left hand brushing over one of Jane's nipples through her shirt as she whispered.

"I do. The things I want to do to you…" Maura growled, a low primal sound that turned Jane on even further. She kissed Jane thoroughly on the lips and swung a leg up from Jane and to the side, giving the detective a full view of her heated core. She stood up and offered a delicately manicured hand to Jane who took it in her own, slightly more calloused one.

"Let's go to my place." Maura said before guiding Jane to the exit.

Jane made no objections, following the Doctor out of the club and to a taxi rank outside. They entered the next one in the queue and Maura rattled off directions for her house to the driver through the screen separating the front and rear of the cab.

She leaned back in her seat beside Jane and turned to look at the detective.

"Are you OK with all this?" Maura asked, realising suddenly that they still hadn't found time for their conversation.

"I'm more sure of this than anything Maur" Jane answered, squeezing the doctor's hand as she leaned in to kiss her, running her tongue over Maura's lips before being granted entry with a small groan from the Doctor.

They continued what they thought of as their 'discreet' make out session for another couple of minutes before Maura broke off with an enormous yawn.

"You aren't going to sleep on me are you Dr Isles?" Jane teased

"Of course not!" Maura protested but was caught yet again with another yawn. This triggered a similar one in Jane.

"I suppose we have had a tiring day." Jane tried to reason. She turned her gaze to the window of the cab for the first time since stepping in. They were passing through a street in downtown Boston.

"This isn't the way to your house is it?" Jane asked Maura, but when she didn't answer turned to find the doctor snoring lightly on her shoulder.

"Excuse me?" Jane directed her question to the cab driver "We're going the wrong... the wrong way…" She yawned again. Her thoughts were fuzzy… but she had only taken one sip of that drink earlier… hadn't she? She tried to lift her hand to open the cab door but her limbs wouldn't obey her, her arm was frozen in place, and her vision started swimming.

"You.." Her voice was too small as she looked up. She caught the gaze of the driver in the rear view mirror and saw him smile; his piercing blue eyes the last thing she saw before she drifted off to a dreamless slumber.


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's note:_

 _Thanks for all the reviews and follows! It always makes my day to read all your comments :)_

 _Longer chapter update this time, enjoy._

* * *

Korsak was pacing the bullpen. It was 10am and there was still no sign of Jane or Maura at the station, neither of them were answering their phones which was completely out of character for the pair, especially when working on such an important case, all contributing to an uneasy worry in Korsak's gut. He was now awaiting a call from Frankie who had detoured to Jane's apartment on his way back from an early morning call out.

The phone rang and Korsak instantly picked it up.

"Frankie?"

"Yea Korsak it's me. No sign of Jane at her apartment, and it doesn't look like she came back here last night. I'm gonna go check Maura's place, Jane may have stayed there last night"

"OK, keep me posted; I'll keep trying their cells'. Jill Monroe walked in 10 minutes ago; I think it's time we find out what she knows".

Korsak made one more attempt to contact both Jane and Maura, hanging up in frustration each time when their phones went to voicemail.

"Nina?!" Korsak called out whilst walking towards the tech hub

"Yea?" She relied as Korsak stuck his head in the room.

"Can you see if you can track Jane and Maura's cell phones? I'm going to talk to the owner of the bar. Let me know as soon as you find anything."

"Sure thing" Nina replied as she turned to her laptop to bring up the needed program.

Korsak headed immediately to a nearby interview room, grabbing his coffee from the side as he went. He stepped in and closed the door behind him, sipping his coffee as he discreetly appraised the woman sitting at the table whilst making his way to his own seat.

Jill Monroe was a beautiful woman in her 50s who had seemingly aged very well, her blonde hair flowed in waves and was tucked to one side to fall in front of her left shoulder. Minimal wrinkles could be seen at the corners of her mouth and eyes indicating someone who smiled well and often.

"Ms Monroe, I'm Detective Korsak" Korsak introduced himself. "Sorry to have kept you waiting, I hope you have been comfortable?"

"Yes, thank you detective. I have sent my assistant to deal with my most immediate appointments here in Boston so I would be available to help in any way I can with your case as it pertains to my club."

"Thank you. Right, so as you may have heard we are working on a homicide case with a number of female victims. We have linked all of them to your HoneyBar. Is there anything you can tell us about your staff, regulars or supplier which may be of help?"

"I assume my manager has given you a list of all employees?"

"Yes she has, but any insights from you would be welcome"

"Well I'm afraid apart from appointing the manager myself when I first took over the bar, I have very little involvement with the day to day running of the business. However, I have brought everything I have on Kate and those that she has hired, including credit checks, job histories and physiological profiles."

"This is very detailed background check for a bar job…" Korsak looked at the thick file now in front of him

"I am a very thorough person detective. I have not gotten where I am today by being lax with security. Although I leave Kate to carry out day to day tasks independently, I do require detailed files on everyone she hires. She is aware that I have final say on all new hires, but I do trust her implicitly, and to date I have not had to intervene with her choices."

"Are you aware of this new hire?" Korsak slid a picture (a still taken from the video feed of Maura's dress-cam) of the new barman.

"Yes of course, he is actually one of mine"

"One of yours?"

"Yes, one of my private security detail. As soon as I heard of the links between my bar and a string of Boston murders, I dispatched him immediately. John Bosley is ex-special forces and excellent at creating cocktails. The bar has its own security in the form of rotating bouncers but I believed in a situation this serious; more security was required. I have his file here." Jill pushed another folder across the desk.

"Thank you, I will get someone on these right away." Korsak quickly stood up and went to the door, passing the files (along with brief instructions to investigate) to the officer on the other side. He then returned to his seat.

"We're currently investigating all avenues to find the suspect. Is there any person, or business rival who may have a problem with you yourself? He or she may not be targeting the women for themselves, but as patrons of a bar that you own…"

"I have numerous business rivals; I don't believe any of them would resort to these sorts of tactics to disrupt my work though…"

"If we could have their names anyway please?" Korsak asked

"Of course" Jill fished a brown leather bound notebook from her bag along with a sleek black pen. She quickly wrote a string of names on a page before ripping the sheet out and passing it to Korsak. On the page of impeccable handwriting was a list of five names, two of whom Korsak recognised as currently under investigation for tax evasion whilst another was being sued for poor treatment of employees.

"How about any personal friends, or family?"

"Detective Korsak, I am from a very small family. Aside from my parents and sister, all of whom live in Europe, and my Wife who is racing in the F1 Japanese qualifiers this month so is out there preparing, there is no one else. I have a limited circle of close friends. Everyone else is a colleague or acquaintance."

"How about someone from your past?" Korsak asked, trying to think of any other link he could find between Jill Monroe and the killer.

She lifted a hand to her head, thinking back to some more painful parts of her life.

"The only one I can think of is my ex-husband…" She whispered

"And his name?" Korsak asked, his own notebook and pen out in front of him now.

"James Knox" Jill answered

"What was your relationship like?"

"We married when I was quite young. It started off as a relatively happy marriage, but James… he… he was an angry man, and… could be quite violent." Jill Monroe looked up and met Korsak's gaze as she spoke. "I felt trapped, he was very controlling, and any little thing could set him off. But a year into the marriage I met Julie" A wide smile lit up Jill's face. "I was on my daily run through the park near our town house when we met; we saw each other every day after that. She is the one who convinced me that I should leave James, that I _could_ leave him. She made me see life was still worth living and that I was worth saving. I fell in love with her in that park."

Korsak smiled at the love he saw in Jill's eyes. He silently motioned for her to continue, not wanting to disrupt the woman's flow.

"She came with me when I went to confront him. To start with he was confused, he laughed when I said I was going. But he soon started shouting, said that I couldn't leave him, that I couldn't be gay, that he wouldn't… allow it." Jill took a deep breath. "That was when he broke my arm" she twisted her left wrist to show Korsak the thin faded scar that ran up her forearm. "Broken in three places, and needed two operations. He threw me to the ground and came at me with one of the golf clubs he kept in the hallway. It must have only taken seconds for all of this to happen but for me time just stopped, I could see him advancing, I was so scared… But Julie, she launched herself at him and knocked him down. I knew she had some martial arts training but I never knew quite how grateful I would be for it. James, well he was a well-built man; he kept in shape, but somehow Julie managed to knock him unconscious. She ran over to me and held me close whilst we waited for the police and an ambulance. I will always remember the words she spoke to me then – I've got you, he'll never love you like I can – We haven't spent more than a day apart since. She was with me at our lodge in the alps when you originally tried to contact me. I'm due to meet her in Japan as soon as I'm finished here."

"Do you know where James Knox is now?" Korsak questioned

"After our confrontation James was arrested. He was sentenced to five years for assault but was released after three. I had a restraining order taken out, but have had no contact from him since I testified, except from a letter he sent to apologise which was apparently part of his anger management program. I don't know where he is now".

"OK, well we have a name and his description. As he has been in the system it shouldn't be too hard to track him down." Korsak finished writing in his notebook, and looked up as the interview room door swung open and Frankie barged through.

"Korsak, Nina found them!" Frankie exclaimed

"Excuse me?" Korsak asked Jill who nodded, before charging after Frankie back to the bullpen.

* * *

Jane blinked, light was bouncing off her closed eyelids. She was confused and her arms were aching. Why did it feel like she had slept on the floor all night?

She was struggling to open her eyes, they felt all gummed up like she had had a ridiculously late night. Eventually she managed to open them a crack and a dull light seeped through, she winced as it triggered a massive headache. She could turn her head minimally from side to side but still couldn't see clearly. Slowly her awareness spread to the rest of her body. She couldn't move her arms or legs but her fingers were functional, suggesting she was tied up. Feeling the hard wood behind her she surmised she was tied to a chair.

'C'mon Jane!' she thought to herself. 'Where am I? What's happened?'

She forced her eyes open fully; ignoring what felt like a jack hammer pounding through her skull and took in her surroundings. She was in a nondescript room, the walls were dark and looked like they were made from concrete. There was a small window high on one wall, the dirty glass restricting the light and what did get through was dull, so the corners of the room were still shrouded in darkness. It was cold and the air smelled damp, she seemed to be alone, but where was Maura?

"Maura?!" Jane shouted. She twisted violently from side to side on the chair; it wasn't bolted down so started rocking as Jane threw her weight behind it, finally crashing to the floor. Two of the legs broke as it fell, giving Jane the leverage to twist around to face the section of the room behind her. To her relief, she saw Maura. The doctor was chained to an old metal radiator against the back wall, she wasn't moving.

"Maura? Are you OK? Maura talk to me!" With her hands still tied around the back of the chair, Jane tried to blow a few strands of hair off her face to see the doctor more clearly but to no avail. She edged her way closer, bucking her body to shift the chair, the wood screeching against the floor as she went.

"Maura?" Jane was close enough to almost touch her, concern flashing from her eyes, was Maura breathing? It was too dark…

"Maura honey, please wake up…" Jane choked on the last word


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's note:_

 _Sorry for the hiatus everyone, I get married next month! So between seemingly constant wedding planning combined with regular work, there has unfortunately been less time for writing._

 _We're nearing the end of this story however, and I hope to get the last few chapters out a lot quicker than this one! Hope you enjoy :)_

 _(Pre-warning for some violence in this chapter)_

* * *

"Jane?" Maura groaned, her head was pounding and her arms ached. She opened her eyes to see the dank dark room they were in.

"Jane?!"

"Maura, I'm here." Jane answered from the floor to the left of the doctor, Maura turned but the chains binding her wrists clanked harshly on the exposed pipes set in the wall, restricting her movements.

"Jane where are we?" Maura's normally calm demeanor replaced by a shakiness in her voice.

"I don't know, it looks like a basement or cellar, that window is probably at street level. Nobody has been in since I've been awake, but I'm guessing we were only unconscious for a few hours after we got into that taxi."

"Were we drugged? My head feels fuzzy, and I can't seem to think clearly…"

"It might have been the drinks… although I barely drank anything at the club. I only began to feel drugged after we entered the taxi…"

"Perhaps it was something in the cab."

"What? Some kind of gas..? That just makes this even more creepy…" Jane strained her neck up and around, trying to get an idea of the room size.

"Jane…" Maura almost whimpered the word. Jane had never heard her so scared before

"It's gonna be OK Maura. We're going to be OK." With that, Jane started shifting on the floor again, trying to gain enough purchase to sit up whilst still tied to the broken chair. She finally managed to rock upright when she heard a door slam somewhere up above their heads, and footsteps… slowly getting louder.

Back in the precinct Nina was on the phone with Frankie and Korsak, guiding the two men to the location of Jane's cell phone, having successfully tracked it via GPS.

"OK guys, the signal is two more blocks over from you, turn right at the next set of lights" Nina's voice came over the speaker phone set up in the squad car.

"Turning now" Korsak stated as he turned the wheel. Frankie was holding onto the phone with one hand, his other poised at the car door, ready to jump out at the first sign of Maura or Jane.

"Take a left" Nina instructed, following the squad car on her screen, the car turned. "The signal is on your left, 200ft in front of you."

Korsak pulled up opposite the alleyway Nina had indicated and both men jumped out of the car. They each pulled out their guns as they approached the entrance, glancing towards one another; Korsak nodded and covered Frankie as he dashed into the shaded opening.

The alleyway wasn't large; a dumpster was pushed up against one wall, with the opposite one scarred with graffiti and suspicious stains along the brickwork. Frankie scanned every inch of the area, but there was no sign of anyone.

"It's clear Korsak!" He shouted back over his shoulder, and the older man trotted in behind him.

"Where are they?"

"There's nobody here…" Frankie sighed, lowering his gun

"Nina?" Korsak had brought the phone with him from the car. "Are you still picking up the signal?"

"I am" Nina's voice cam over the speaker phone. "Jane's phone should be right in front of you!"

"The only thing is this dumpster…" Frankie mused. He walked over to it and lifted the top, pulling himself up to the side he started rummaging through the upper layers of trash, looking desperately for any sign that his sister had been in that alley.

"Wait! There!" Korsak pointed to a black bag with some artful red lace detail, half hidden under a pile of leftover Chinese takeout. Frankie pulled it out; it was Maura's bag from the club. Frankie dropped back down to the ground and opened the bag. Inside were two phones, both looked like they had been crushed before being thrown away. Korsak picked up one of them.

"This is Jane's, it must still be working enough for Nina to pick up a signal."

"The kidnapper must have thrown them out." Frankie dropped the bag and sank into a crouch, head in his hands.

"We've gotta find them Korsak! Oh God, what am I gonna tell Ma if we don't find them..?"

"Let's get back to the station. We have one more lead, I've got Nina working on a 'James Knox'

In the dank and dark basement, Maura and Jane were still trapped. The sounds from above had faded and both women had spent the last hour attempting to free themselves. Jane had fared slightly better than Maura as her restraints were rope, the detective had dragged herself (along with her chair) to the wall by Maura and was using the jagged edge of a broken pipe to cut through the cord. It was time consuming, and Jane's hands had numerous cuts from the effort. Maura, however, was chained to the wall, and despite her struggling, was unable to break free. Not one to give up, the doctor had started yanking on the pipe itself to try and break the entire thing free of the wall.

"Maura hush!" Jane whispered suddenly. Maura instantly stilled her hands, and without the noise of chain against pipe they heard more sounds from above. There were footsteps growing louder, clunking on steps as they descended closer to the hidden room. They shot each other a quick look before Jane began sawing her bound hands frantically against the sharp metal again, she had to break free, and she had to get them out of this.

"Jane…" Maura whispered, drawing the detectives attention. Jane looked up, but her hands continued their movements. "Jane, if we don't make it…"

"Don't say that Maur!"

"No, just listen. If we don't make it, I want you to know something…" Maura's gaze dropped

"Maura!" Jane grabbed her attention "Tell me when we're free… yeah?" Maura nodded silently, she tugged again, fruitlessly, at her bonds before the sound of an old door creaking open across the room made both the women look up.

A man was standing just inside the door. He looked fairly nondescript, average height, muscular build, short sandy brown hair brushed neatly to part at the side and the same piercing blue eyes Jane remembered from the cab.

"I wasn't expecting a couple…" He commented absently as he walked a short way into the room

"Who the hell are you?!" Jane half yelled the question to cover the fear that was starting to eat away at her. By her reckoning it was late morning and so around 10 hours since their initial abduction, the estimated time of death for the victims was an average of 12 hours after they had been reported missing.

"It doesn't matter… It never mattered…" The man muttered as he turned to the wall behind him and unlocked a cupboard, bending down to reach inside.

"If you let us go now we can organise a negotiation plea with the authorities for you" Maura stated, Jane proudly noting only a slight tremor in her voice.

"And why would I want that?" The man stood up, revealing a crowbar in one hand. "Nobody knows I'm here, no-one knows anything about me. And I have to teach her a lesson, show her I can't just be cast aside!"

"Teach who?" Maura asked softly, realising now that their captor may be slightly unhinged.

"Her!" He gestured wildly with the crowbar. "Her and her bitch!" He growled his last sentence.

He started angrily pacing the room, his original calm demeanour now completely gone.

"I'm going to destroy her! Not allowed within 100 yards of her body, but nothing stops me going to her clubs. Enough people dying will ruin her reputation, and maybe one day SHE will be there too" he growled out the 'SHE' as he tossed the crow bar up into the air and caught it again, a small smile on his face.

Jane and Maura said nothing, their eyes following him around the basement, Jane was ever so slowly moving her hands back to the jagged pipe behind her back, rubbing the cord back and forth against the sharp edge.

"She has to pay, and that means… that you and your lover have to die" He abruptly stood up and moved closer to the two women. Maura leaned back into the wall, desperately trying to move further away from him. Jane stayed in position staring defiantly back. His gaze snapped to the detective as he finally seemed to notice the broken chair.

"Well you're a feisty one." He stepped up to Jane and without warning suddenly kicked her viciously in the stomach. She cried out and curled as far into a ball as she could whilst still tied to the chair. He drew his foot back and kicked her again, sending her sliding to the far side of the small room, the chair scraping against the floor as it went.

"Jane!" Maura shouted out "No, stop it!" she cried out again as their captor moved towards where Jane had come to a halt, brandishing his weapon. The rational side of Maura was already calculating the potential injuries Jane must have sustained and she couldn't halt the tears falling silently down her face as she watched the woman she loved in pain

He looked back towards Maura.

"Maybe I'll let your girlfriend wait it out for a minute..." He changed his grip on the metal bar and started towards the doctor.

"Please just let us go! I'm the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I can get you the help you need, just let us go!" Maura's voice was hoarse and harsh, her cheeks wet and her eyes red.

The sandy haired attacker ignored Maura's plea and continued his advance.

"Don't you get it? I don't care who you are. She has to pay… And you just happen to be in my way."

He raised his arm above his head, the metal glinting a little in the dim light starting to filter into the basement from outside.

Time stopped for Jane at that point. After being thrown across the floor she had wasted no time frantically pulling and tearing at the straps around her wrists. Her ribs grated painfully with each breath, but the kick delivered by their captor had broken another leg on the chair, loosening the ties around her ankles enough for her to shrug them off. She was close to breaking her bonds when the man had raised the crowbar to strike Maura. Something in Jane snapped at that point; she couldn't let anything happen to Maura, not now. Not now that she had finally admitted to herself what she felt for her best friend.

She flexed her arms, grunting as she strained her shoulders to breaking point, but at last the final threads of the rope restraining her finally split. She fell heavily onto her side but didn't pause to take a breath. She pushed herself up, ignoring the pain in her stomach and ribs, and grabbed the broken chair leg. She saw the metal bar descending towards Maura and a animalistic scream ripped from her throat. She charged the would be murderer and slammed the solid wood leg hard against him as he turned to face her. They both collapsed to the ground as Jane's ankle gave way, bent at an impossible angle beneath her.

"Jane!" Maura cried out as her best friend's momentum carried her to land solidly on the ground. The blue eyed man had hit his head on the way down and wasn't moving, but Maura convinced herself that she could see Jane's chest rising and lowering slightly. Maura shook her chains violently, pulling at the pipe that held her to the wall, she twisted around to press her feet up against the wall and pushed, trying to pry the bar free. It moved a minute distance before stopping again, she yelled out incoherently in frustration and turned back to face Jane.

"Jane, Jane please wake up… Come on, for me, please?" Maura pleaded with Jane's unconscious body, terrified of the injuries the detective had sustained.

"urrrgggh…" A moan emanated from Jane's lips, followed by a sharp gasp as the pain she had been ignoring in her fight to defend Maura came flooding back.

"Jane? Jane don't move, you may have suffered damage to your ribs and spine. We need to stabilise you." Maura again started pulling at her restraints, trying to focus on the science of what had happened to Jane so she didn't just break down in tears. The skin on her wrists started tearing as she pulled harder and harder, the cuffs becoming slick with the blood dripping from the shallow cuts. She suddenly took a deep breath and focused all her energies on one wrist; using her right hand, she pressed hard against the proximal phalaynx bone in the thumb of her left hand until she heard a small pop, gasping as the small bones in her hand grated. Thumb successfully dislocated she slowly squeezed her left hand out of the metal cuffs, allowing her to draw the rest of the metal restraints through from behind the pipe, still attached to her right arm, but more importantly, free of the wall. With a slight wince, she manipulated her thumb back into its proper position and rotated it a couple of times to check its movement.

Finally free, Maura rushed to Jane's side, hands still covered in her own blood as she swiftly assessed Jane's neck and spine. She sighed in relief to find everything as it should be, and gently rolled Jane over to assess her other injuries. Her heart broke as she heard Jane whimper as she was moved and as Maura ran her skilled hands up Jane's body.

"It will be OK Jane, I just need to check your ribs"

Maura determined that at least two ribs were fractured, possibly more. She turned her attention next to Jane's torso, lifting up her tank top to expose her abdomen, already bruising from the kicks she had sustained. Maura was worried there were some internal injuries but couldn't do more without the correct equipment. She finally noticed Jane's hands, her mouth creating an 'oh' as she saw the lacerations crossing the detective's hands and upper arms from the jagged metal she had used to escape her bonds. Some of the cuts were still bleeding freely so Maura quickly reached down and ripped two thick strips off the bottom of her dress and used it to stem the bleeding; she tied the improvised dressing efficiently and tucked the ends in. She turned her attention briefly to their attacker, quickly checking his pulse, and neck for spinal injuries once she had determined he was still alive.

She looked back at Jane, she desperately needed medical attention but Maura didn't want to leave her alone with their captor in case he woke up. Decision made she rushed to the cabinets along one side of the room, crouched down, and started hunting for anything she could use to restrain him, but all she found were a few more heavy metal bars and a wicked looking knife. She spun around on her heels thinking, and then ran over to the unconscious man on the floor. She quickly rummaged through his pockets and grinned when her searching fingers found a cold metal key. Luckily it fit the lock of the cuffs still hanging from her right arm. She swiftly unlocked herself and dragged the comatose man closer to the wall where she had been captive. Manipulating his hands and arms she quickly cuffed him around the pipe she herself had struggled against and pocketed the key.

She assessed the distance between him and Jane and determined Jane was as safe as she could make her. She crouched back beside Jane who was by now drifting in and out of consciousness, her breathing laboured as she struggled with damaged ribs. Maura lent down and pressed her lips gently against Jane's.

"Try not to move, I need to go and call for help."

"Wha… about… him?" Jane whispered, having to take a small breath between each word.

"Don't worry, he's still alive but I've tied him up. I won't be long I promise." Maura kissed Jane again, her heart lifting as she felt Jane smile against her mouth. She stood up and ran to the stairs, taking them two at a time (which was much easier since she had lost her heels) and went up into the unknown building above.


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's note: Hey guys! Wedding was amazing, although now I get to go back to work which is less fun, it does mean however a little more time for writing :D_

 _Thank you for coming on this journey with me, this is the final chapter for 'He'll never love you like I can' so I hope you enjoy!_

 _I do have plans for a sequel... Which hopefully some of you might be interested in?_

* * *

Once upstairs, Maura quickly rushed between rooms searching for a working phone. The one in the kitchen had been disconnected but she finally found a dial tone on a handset in the dining room. She quickly dialled Korsak's number.

"Detective Korsak" The gravelly voice answered after one ring

"It's me" Maura answered

"Maura! Where are you?!" Korsak was frantically beckoning Frankie and Nina over. The two had been relentlessly searching through all the data they had on James Knoxx.

"We're in what appears to be a 19th century townhouse, Jane's injured; we'll need an ambulance. Hang on let me find an address…" Maura's voice trailed off as she began rummaging in the draws of a nearby dresser for anything that might give her a more exact location. "Here! There is an opened envelope addressed to a James Peters"

"That must be the name James Knoxx was using, that's why we couldn't find him!" Korsak exclaimed as he jotted down the address that Maura rattled off.

"Knoxx?" Maura asked

"I will explain later, don't worry we're on our way" Korsak answered before running out of the station and to his car, Frankie and two other officers followed; Frankie calling for an ambulance to meet them there as he went.

As soon as Korsak had hung up, Maura ran straight back downstairs to check on Jane. Once down the steps to the basement she skidded to her knees beside the detective and quickly reassessed her injuries. She sighed with relief as it seemed that Jane had followed her instructions to remain still.

"Hey…" Jane rasped out with a small smile, which quickly morphed into a grimace as her ribs protested the effort involved in speaking.

"You should refrain from speaking Jane, until we get you an x-ray we won't know how bad your rib injuries are" Maura rested her hand gently on Jane's forearm, carefully above the efficient bandage she had made earlier, and met Jane's gaze.

"I got through to Korsak, they're on their way here right now. Soon this will all be over" she ran her thumb in soothing circles on Jane's smooth skin.

Jane closed her eyes, letting the soft motions calm her as she tried to keep her breathing as shallow as possible.

A loud grunt and rattle of chains nearby jolted her out of the meditation and she hissed with pain as her ribs grated. She quickly opened her eyes but couldn't see the source of the sound whilst still remaining still. She flicked her eyes to where Maura was still hovering over her protectively, but the doctor was glaring at the far wall. She watched as Maura pushed herself to her feet and out of Jane's field of vision.

"Let me go! You can't do this to me!?" James Knoxx's voice grew louder with indignation as he pulled at his chains, screeching them painfully loudly against the pipe. Suddenly all sounds of protest stopped, including the metal knocking. Maura came back into Jane's view with a small smile on her face. She lowered herself to the ground beside Jane and resumed her calming ministrations to Jane's arm.

"What did you do?!" Jane hoarsely whispered at Maura, her eyes wide, not sure she even wanted to know the answer.

"What..? He's completely unhurt! I know enough about human anatomy to subdue someone safely Jane." Maura replied, she looked across to the wall and a small smile ghosted across her face.

Jane formed an 'Oh' with her mouth as Maura smiled at her, before deciding to try and concentrate on minimising her pain, instead of what her best friend had done to 'subdue' their former captor.

Ten minutes later saw Korsak and Frankie bursting through the townhouse front door, two more officers close on their heels.

"Jane!? Maura!?" Frankie called out as they started sweeping the house.

"Down here!" Maura called back, she had left the basement door wedged open when she went back down to Jane.

Frankie came rushing down the stairs, quickly followed by the ambulance crew who had just arrived, directed downstairs by Korsak.

"Janie! Oh man am I glad to see you!" Frankie dove in for a hug but was quickly pulled back by a protective Maura.

"She may have internal injuries! She definitely has at least one fractured rib" She explained to Jane's frantic brother

"Yeah Frankie, take it easy, I'm a bit broken here" Jane joked in a whisper, wincing as even the little movement that called for triggered a sharp pain through her ribs.

"What happened to him?" Korsak indicated their ex captor, now prisoner, slumped unconscious up against the metal pipe jutting to the wall, hands still bound tightly with the handcuffs.

"He was the taxi driver who picked us up…" whispered Jane. She strained a little to turn her head to look at him but stopped when Maura placed a hand on her arm to still her movements.

"She has a broken ankle and lacerations to her wrists, possibly also a fractured or broken rib. I have immobilised her and applied pressure to stop the bleeding." The two paramedics nodded at Maura's assessment and quickly knelt down next to Jane and started checking her vitals.

"He drugged us somehow in the taxi and we woke up here. He was planning to kill us; he tried to attack me but Jane saved my life." Maura continued their story, smiling at Jane as the detective found the doctor's hand and gripped it tightly. "He seems mentally unstable, ranting about revenge on a woman in his life…?" Maura added, looking up at Korsak questioningly for answers.

"His real name is James Knoxx. He was married to Ms Jill Monroe, and after a number of abusive years, she divorced him and found love with a woman. He could never accept what had happened and she was forced to get a restraining order when his homophobic abuse against the pair of them started. It looks like he has been trying to get his revenge by ruining her reputation; targeting the women who visit her club. He has been living under this false identity for the past year, working as a taxi driver throughout Boston." Korsak explained. "You two" Korsak pointed at the two officers who had come with him. "Cuff him and take him back to the station, we'll ensure doctor Isles and Detective Rizzoli are taken care of"

The man and woman nodded and got to the task of removing James Knoxx from the pipe and tightly re-cuffing him in regulation police restraints. He moaned a little as he was moved and they quickly manoeuvred him up the stairs and out of the house.

"Right, let's get you out of here." One of the paramedics spoke to Jane; they had moved and bound her to a spinal board. With one at each end, the paramedics carefully lifted the detective and began their way back upstairs, Maura followed close behind, eyes on Jane. On reaching the stairs the doctor's legs began to shake; shock finally starting to set in. Frankie grabbed her arm and with a smile guided her up the rest of the steps.

Once outside, Jane was placed in the ambulance. The attendant attempted to shut the door but was stopped by Maura.

"I'm coming with you!" She said adamantly, broking no arguments from the woman trying to close the door. She relented with a nod and a sigh, and gestured for Maura to enter the back of the ambulance and join her,

"We will meet you at the hospital." Korsak called out

"I'll call ma!" Frankie added, a wide grin on his face.

The paramedic finally managed to close the door and they set off.

Maura gripped Jane's hand tight as she sat next to her in the ambulance, carefully watching as the paramedic administered fluids and rebound Jane's wrists with medical gauze.

"You are very lucky Detective; that Dr Isles was nearby when this happened, the cuts on your wrists are quite deep, you could have lost a lot of blood..." The paramedic left the implication unsaid.

"I know." Jane answered, returning Maura's grip and smiling up at the doctor.

"As it is, it looks like you have some internal bleeding, I'm going to administer some pain relief " continued the paramedic, before she injected the detective's arm.

A short while later saw the ambulance arrive at the local Boston hospital, Jane was rushed into surgery to deal with the internal bleeding. Maura was right behind her and only stopped outside the operating theatre when another doctor insisted that she let him attend to the deep cuts on her own arms. Maura relented once she found out a surgeon she knew and respected was operating on Jane.

"Thank you Dr Wade" Maura spoke to the young junior doctor as he finished up her stitches, "I couldn't have done better myself". He blushed slightly at the praise from the famous Dr Maura Isles.

"You're welcome, it looks like you have also suffered a dislocation recently?" He asked, gently probing her bruised thumb.

"Yes, I had to dislocate my thumb to extricate myself from a recent situation"

"Well it looks like you returned it to its normal position correctly so I recommend you don't put any unnecessary strain on the digit and it should be fine in a few days."

"Thanks. Could you update me on Detective Rizzoli's condition please?"

"I'll go and check for you" The Doctor collected his equipment together and headed out in the direction of the operating theatre.

Maura spent the next few minutes agonising about what might have happened during the operation. She tried flicking through the channels on the tv in the corner and when she couldn't focus on that any more she moved onto the stack of magazines near the bed but she just wasn't reading the words. She through them down with a huff and glanced at the clock on the wall, only five minutes had passed since Dr Wade had left to check on Jane but Maura couldn't wait any more. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and wandered out and into the main hospital thoroughfare. She made her way to the family waiting area where she found Frankie, Korsak and Angela.

"Maura!" Angela exclaimed, rushing over to the blonde doctor; still in her red dress from the night before, slightly more ragged now that she had been kidnapped, tied up in a basement and subsequently ripped chunks off of it to use as bandaging.

Angela enveloped her in a hug and Maura fell into it, glad of the Rizzoli matriarch's support.

"How is she?"

"We don't know… They won't tell us anything!" Angela replied, anguish in her voice.

At that point, a door opened ahead and a familiar face popped out.

"Ah Dr Isles!"

"Dr Wade! Do you have any news for us?"

"Yes! The operation was successful, Dr Nichols is just finishing up in surgery. They will then take her to her room to recover. But she will be out of it for a while yet."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Angela cried out, charging at the doctor and hugging him fiercely. "Thank you for saving my Janie!"

Maura walked up to them and laid a battered hand on the doctor's arm

"Thank you." She whispered, her eyes growing moist.

"Frankie, can you go to Jane's apartment and gather some things for her?" Angela asked her son.

"Sure Ma. Do you want me to pick anything up for you Maura?" Frankie guessing that Maura would want to stay nearby until Jane woke up.

"Yes please, thank you. If you could just grab a few clothes and my travel bag?"

"Sure" Frankie replied with a smile "I'll be back soon" He strode off out of the hospital, calmer now he knew his sister was going to pull through.

Maura and Angela made their way to Jane's room, lead by Dr Wade who ushered them in before rushing off to see another patient. She was still asleep so they settled in chairs to wait.

–-

It was close to 1am when Jane awoke. The room was dim and for a second she panicked, thinking she was back in the basement, still tied to the chair.

Her thrashing woke Maura who had fallen asleep in a chair in the corner after changing into some more relaxed clothes. She startled awake as she heard Jane's bed rocking and jumped to her feet, the blanket Angela had draped over her falling to the floor.

"Jane! Jane! It's OK you're in the hospital, it's alright" Maura grabbed Jane's and and squeezed it tight.

"Maura?"

"Yes it's me" Maura said with a smile, her eyes going a little moist again. "You've had some major surgery and a cast put on your ankle but you will be OK".

"How are you?" Jane asked, as always more concerned with Maura's well-being than her own.

"I'm fine, just a few stitches" Maura held up her battered hands, "I think you came off much worse than me"

"I feel like I've been hit by a truck..."

"That will be the two fractured ribs" Maura said with a sad smile

"And Knoxx?"

"Korsak took him into custody after I immobilised him. He is being charged with multiple homicides in addition to the attempted homicide of the chief medical examiner and an extremely cute Boston detective..."

"Are you flirting with me Dr Isles? Whilst I'm stuck in this bed..?" Jane replied with a grin.

"Maybe I wasn't clear enough..." Maura replied as she leaned down and captured Jane's lips in a soft kiss.

Their world faded away until it was just the two of them, finally and completely accepting their feelings for each other. They didn't notice Angela walk quietly in through the door with two cups of coffee, smiling as she finally watched her daughter give in to her happiness.


End file.
